The Cotswolds have been on the Gloucestershire hills for ages, and have long been famous for the length of their fleece, hardiness, and breeding qualities.

The Lincoln is the result of the old native breed of the county improved by Leicester blood.  They have larger heads and denser and heavier wool than the Leicesters, averaging 8 to 9 lb. to the fleece, but have been known to yield 14 lb.

The Kentish or Romney Marsh have long existed in the district whence they obtain their name, but are not much known away from that locality.

The Devon Longwool is a result of the infusion of Leicester blood among the old Bampton stock of Devonshire called Bampton Notts or polled sheep.

The South Devons or South Hams are another local breed, and are a result of the improvement of the South Hams Notts by the Leicester.

The Wensleydales are descendants of the old Teeswater breed, itself a variety of the old Leicester and improved by the new Leicesters of Culley.

2.  Oxford Downs, a modern black-faced breed, now widely spread all over the midland counties, are a mixture of Cotswolds with Hampshire Downs and Southdowns, and originated at the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, but were not definitely so called till 1857.  This cross of two distinct varieties, the long and the short wool, has approximated to the shortwool type.

The Southdown, formerly Sussex Down, an old breed bred for ages on the chalky soils of the South Downs, is ‘perhaps’, says Youatt, ’the most valuable breed in the kingdom.’  It was to John Ellman of Glynde, at the end of the eighteenth century, that they owe their present perfection, and they have exercised as much influence among the shortwools as the Leicesters among the longwools.

The Shropshire sheep is a descendant of the original Longmynd or old Shropshire sheep, which began to be crossed by the Southdown at the commencement of the nineteenth century.[753] They were recognized as a distinct breed in 1853, and since then have become one of the most valued breeds, combining the symmetry and quality of the Southdown with the weight of the Cotswold and the fattening tendency of the Leicester, with a hardier constitution.

The Hampshire Down is another instance of the widespread influence of the Southdown, being the result of crossing that breed with the old Wiltshire sheep, which had long curling horns, and the Berkshire Knott.  They are heavier than the Shropshire, and are perhaps more distinguished for early maturity than any other breed.

The Suffolk is derived from the old horned Norfolk ewe mated with the Southdown, and was first granted its name in 1859.

The Ryeland is a small, hornless, white-faced breed which has been in Herefordshire for centuries, but of late years has dwindled in numbers before the advent of the Shropshire.

The Somerset and Dorset Horned is another old breed, preserved in a pure state, much improved in modern times, and very hardy.